1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is directed in general to communication systems and, more specifically, to systems and methods for real-time measurement of antenna impedance.
2. Description of the Related Art
The environment in which a wireless communication system is located can have a significant impact on the performance of antennas associated with the system. In particular, the power radiated by an antenna is affected by its proximity to objects, as, for example, a human, a metal object, a building, or a combination of such objects. To maximize the performance of a wireless communication system, it is important to compensate for environmental factors that may affect the efficiency of the antenna.
It is especially advantageous to be able to determine the input impedance of the antenna in real time. For example, a change in the impedance may indicate a change in the channel that the wireless device is operating in. The change in the impedance information may be used to initiate a defined action. For example, in beam steering applications, the change in the antenna impedance value may indicate the need to initiate the beam steering process in search for a better link. In some applications, a known antenna input impedance value can be used to control tunable antenna components. Knowledge of the characteristics of the antenna impedance can also provide sense information regarding the near-field environment of the antenna (e.g., head, holster, etc.). Knowledge of the antenna input impedance in real-time can also be used to facilitate adaptive antenna impedance matching to compensate for the effects of the user.